2021 FIA World Rallycross Championship

2021 FIA World Rallycross Championship

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Support series:
European Rallycross Championship

The 2021 FIA World Rallycross Championship was the eighth season of the FIA World Rallycross Championship, an auto racing championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as the highest class of international rallycross.

The championship was due to begin on 12 June at the Lånkebanen in Norway and end on 10 October at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium; however after calendar adjustments, it began on 23 July at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain and ended on 28 November at the Nürburgring in Germany.

2021 was the first season with the WRC Promoter GmbH as the championship promoter after succeeding IMG, ^[1] subsequently formed Rallycross Promoter GmbH. ^[2] Johan Kristoffersson won the Drivers' Championship for the second consecutive year, with the title also being his fourth overall. Hansen World RX Team won the Teams' Championship.

Calendar

The 2021 championship was due to be contested over 10 rounds in Europe, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
The initial calendar was released on 16 December 2020, it included two unconfirmed slots: 1 for a round in Europe, and one for a round in the Middle East/Asia. ^[3] On 26 March 2021, the calendar was adjusted due to the effects of COVID-19 pandemic; and the rounds in Finland, Middle East, and South Africa were removed from the calendar. ^[4] On 12 May 2021; the calendar was adjusted again by cancelling World RX of Norway, postponing World RX of Sweden, and World RX of Portugal returned to the calendar as the final round. ^[5]

Rnd	Event	Date	Venue	Class	Winner	Team	Report
1	World RX of Barcelona-Catalunya	23–24 July	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	RX1	Kevin Hansen	Hansen World RX Team	Report
				RX2e	Guillaume De Ridder	Guillaume De Ridder
2	World RX of Sweden	20–22 August [a]	Höljesbanan, Höljes	RX1	Timmy Hansen	Hansen World RX Team	Report
				RX2e	Jesse Kallio	Olsbergs MSE
3	Bretagne World RX of Lohéac	3–5 September	Circuit de Lohéac, Lohéac	RX1	Timmy Hansen	Hansen World RX Team	Report
				RX2e	Dorian Deslandes	Olsbergs MSE
4	Ferratum World RX of Riga	18–19 September	Biķernieku Kompleksā Sporta Bāze, Riga	RX1	Niclas Grönholm	GRX-SET World RX Team	Report
5					Johan Kristoffersson	KYB EKS JC
6	Benelux World RX of Spa-Francorchamps	9–10 October	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	RX1	Johan Kristoffersson	KYB EKS JC	Report
				RX2e	Guillaume De Ridder	Guillaume De Ridder
7	Cooper Tires World RX of Montalegre	16–17 October	Pista Automóvel de Montalegre, Montalegre	RX1	Niclas Grönholm	GRX-SET World RX Team	Report
8	World RX of Germany	27–28 November	Nürburgring, Nürburg	RX1	Johan Kristoffersson	KYB EKS JC	Report
9					Niclas Grönholm	GRX-SET World RX Team
				RX2e	Guillaume De Ridder	Guillaume De Ridder
Cancelled Races
C	World RX of Norway [5]	12–13 June	Lånkebanen, Hell	RX1	Cancelled
				RX2e

Calendar Changes

• After being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World RX of Benelux, World RX of Germany, World RX of France and all returned to the calendar.
• After being on the 2020 calendar, then cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World RX of Russia, World RX of Finland and World RX of Abu Dhabi were not included on the initial calendar.
• The World RX of South Africa firstly returned to the initial calendar, however it was removed from the calendar after the adjustment of the calendar.
• The World RX of Riga - Latvia was firstly not included in the initial calendar, it returned to the calendar after the adjustment. However, it is still subject to the contract. ^[4] On the 19th of July, it was announced that the event had been expanded to a double-header weekend, bringing the total number of championship rounds to 9. ^[6]
• The World RX of Norway firstly returned to the initial calendar, however it was removed from the calendar in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[5]
• The World RX of Portugal was firstly not included in the initial calendars, it returned to the calendar after the cancellation of World RX of Norway. ^[5]
• The World RX of Germany was originally scheduled to hold a double header for rounds 2 and 3 of the season, but was later postponed due to the circuit aiding in the disaster relief efforts following the 2021 European floods. ^[7]

Series News

• The FIA announced a tender process to find a new promoter to replace IMG. IMG had been the championship's promoters since its inception in 2014. ^[8]
• On 11 February 2021, it was announced that WRC Promoter GmbH would replace IMG as the championship's promoter, ^[9] subsequently formed Rallycross Promoter GmbH on 21 April 2021. ^[2]
• The Supercar class was renamed RX1. ^[10]
• The RX2 class was discontinued. It was replaced by the electric RX2e class. ^[10]

Entries

RX1

Constructor	Team	Car	No.	Drivers	Rounds	Ref
Audi	KYB EKS JC	Audi S1	1	Johan Kristoffersson	All	[11]
			91	Enzo Ide	All	[12]
	Kárai Motorsport Sportegyesület		73	Tamás Kárai	1, 8-9	[13]
	Volland Racing KFT		95	Yury Belevskiy	8-9	[14]
Citroën	Hervé Knapick	Citroën DS3	84	Hervé Knapick	3, 6, 8-9 [b]	[15]
Ford	Ollie O'Donovan	Ford Fiesta	2	Ollie O'Donovan	3, 6-9	[16]
	Juha Rytkönen		18	Juha Rytkönen	1-2, 4-6	[17]
	Team SKÅAB		31	Stefan Kristensson	8-9	[14]
	Nyirád Motorsport KFT		50	Attila Mozer	1-2	[13]
Hyundai	Hedströms Motorsport	Hyundai i20	8	Peter Hedström	2	[18]
			92	Anton Marklund	6, 8-9	[19]
	GRX-SET World RX Team		23	Krisztián Szabó	All	[20]
			68	Niclas Grönholm	All	[20]
	Davy Jeanney		27	Davy Jeanney	8-9	[21]
	Patrick Guillerme		83	Patrick Guillerme	1	[13]
Mini	Oliver Bennett	Mini Cooper	42	Oliver Bennett	1	[22]
Peugeot	Hansen World RX Team	Peugeot 208	9	Kevin Hansen	All	[23]
			21	Timmy Hansen	All	[24]
Renault	Unkorrupted	Renault Mégane R.S.	36	Guerlain Chicherit	8-9	[14]
			69	Kevin Abbring	1-6	[25]
SEAT	ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport	SEAT Ibiza	5	Mattias Ekström	4-5	[26]
			38	Mandie August	1	[27]
			44	Timo Scheider	1, 3-6	[28]
			77	René Münnich	1	[27]
Volkswagen	Hedströms Motorsport	Volkswagen Polo	17	Dan Öberg	1, 4-5	[13]

RX2e

Constructor	Team	Car	No.	Drivers	Rounds	Ref
QEV Technologies	Ann Luijten	ZEROID X1 [29]	2	Kobe Pauwels	5	[30]
	Ruben Fernandez Gil		5	Pablo Suárez	1	[31]
	Monlau Competición				2-5	[32]
	Olsbergs MSE		11	Dorian Deslandes	3	[33]
			12	Klara Andersson	4-5	[34]
			28	Filip Thorén	4-5	[34]
			35	Fraser McConnell [c]	1-2	[35]
			47	Jesse Kallio	All	[36]
			82	Isak Sjökvist	2-5	[32]
			121	Conner Martell	3-4	[33]
	Patrick O'Donovan		13	Patrick O'Donovan	All	[37]
	Kristoffersson Motorsport		14	Nils Andersson	2-3	[38]
	RN Kaspersky Racing Team		15	Reinis Nitišs	3	[33]
	Linus Östlund		18	Linus Östlund	2	[32]
	Damien Meunier		21	Damien Meunier	1-2	[39]
	XITE Energy Racing		22	Christine Giampaoli Zonca	4	[34]
	Jan Oscar Ortfeldt		36	Jan Oscar Ortfeldt [d]	1	[40] [41]
	Acciona Sainz XE Team		44	Laia Sanz	4	[34]
	G4 Motors SA		55	José-Luis García Molina	1	[42]
	Mark Flaherty		77	Mark Flaherty	1	[43]
	Ole-Henry Steinsholt		88	Ole-Henry Steinsholt	1	[44]
	Guillaume De Ridder		96	Guillaume De Ridder	All	[45]
	Escuderia Mollerussa		112	Pepe Arqué	5	[30]
	Cyril Raymond		113	Cyril Raymond	3	[33]
	EKS JC		170	Isak Reiersen	2	[32]

Championship Standings

World Championship points are scored as follows:

	Position
Round	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th
Heats	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
Semi-Finals	6	5	4	3	2	1
Final	8	5	4	3	2	1

RX1 Driver's Championship

Pos. Driver BAR SWE FRA LAT BEL PRT GER Points 1 Johan Kristoffersson 3 7 7 5 1 1 6 1 3 217 2 Timmy Hansen 2 1 1 2 3 4 2 5 4 217 3 Niclas Grönholm 8 8 3 1 2 8 1 4 1 197 4 Kevin Hansen 1 2 2 3 5 2 3 9 2 191 5 Krisztián Szabó 4 5 5 4 6 3 4 3 7 162 6 Enzo Ide 10 4 8 9 9 5 5 6 6 125 7 Kevin Abbring 6 3 4 8 8 7 97 8 Timo Scheider 7 6 6 7 9 75 9 Juha Rytkönen 9 6 10 10 10 52 10 Mattias Ekström 7 4 37 11 Ollie O'Donovan 9 12 7 13 13 37 12 Yury Belevskiy 2 9 36 13 Anton Marklund 6 12 8 33 14 Guerlain Chicherit 7 5 27 15 Tamás Kárai 11 10 11 25 16 Davy Jeanney 8 10 20 17 Hervé Knapick 10 11 NC WD 18 18 René Münnich 5 16 19 Stefan Kristensson 11 12 14 20 Attila Mózer 14 10 13 21 Peter Hedström 9 11 22 Oliver Bennett 12 8 23 Dan Öberg 16 11 [e] 11 7 24 Mandie August 13 4 25 Patrick Guillerme 15 2 Pos. Driver BAR SWE FRA LAT BEL PRT GER Points

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX)

RX1 Team's Championship

Pos. Team No. BAR SWE FRA LAT BEL PRT GER Points 1 Hansen World RX Team 9 1 2 2 3 5 2 3 9 2 408 21 2 1 1 2 3 4 2 5 4 2 GRX-SET World RX Team 23 4 5 5 4 6 3 4 3 7 359 68 8 8 3 1 2 8 1 4 1 3 KYB EKS JC 1 3 7 7 5 1 1 6 1 3 342 91 10 4 8 9 9 5 5 6 6 Pos. Driver BAR SWE FRA LAT BEL PRT GER Points RX2e Driver's Championship Pos. Driver BAR SWE FRA BEL GER Points 1 Guillaume De Ridder 1 4 3 1 1 134 2 Jesse Kallio 5 1 4 2 2 123 3 Pablo Suárez 4 10 10 5 3 76 4 Patrick O'Donovan 3 6 9 7 7 76 5 Isak Sjökvist 3 6 3 5 72 6 Fraser McConnell 6 2 49 7 Klara Andersson 4 8 35 8 Dorian Deslandes 1 30 9 Nils Andersson 7 8 29 10 Conner Martell 5 9 26 11 Reinis Nitišs 2 24 12 Filip Thorén 6 9 23 13 Damien Meunier 8 9 23 14 Ole Henry Steinsholt 2 21 15 Kobe Pauwels 4 21 16 Linus Östlund 5 19 17 Pepe Arqué 6 18 18 Cyril Raymond 7 16 19 Jose-Luis Garcia Molina 7 13 20 Christine Giampaoli Zonca 8 13 21 Isak Reiersen 8 13 22 Mark Flaherty 9 10 23 Jan Oscar Ortfeldt 10 9 24 Laia Sanz 10 9 Pos. Driver BAR SWE FRA BEL GER Points

Notes

1. World RX of Sweden was originally due to take place on 2–4 July 2021; however it was rescheduled to 20–22 August 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic ^[5]
2. Hervé Knapick was entered into round 9, but was later withdrawn as a result of crash damage sustained in round 8.
3. Fraser McConnell is a Jamaican driver competing under a Swedish license.
4. Jan Oscar Ortfeldt is a Swedish driver competing under an Italian license.
5. Dan Öberg was deducted 10 championship points for the use of a fourth turbo over the season.

References

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2. "Rallycross Promoter GmbH builds team for World RX future". FIA World Rallycross. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
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6. "2021 WORLD RX OF RIGA-LATVIA BECOMES DOUBLE-HEADER EVENT". 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
7. "World RX of Germany postponed as Nürburgring assists disaster relief effort". 22 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
8. Ridge, Hal (14 October 2020). "FIA launches tender process to find new WRX promoter". motorsport.com. Motorsport Magazine. Retrieved 30 December 2020.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
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10. FVR (9 October 2020). "What's in a name - new names Supercar and Super1600". rallycross.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
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26. "Former World Champion Ekström rejoins fray for Riga". FIA World Rallycross Championship. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
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33. "Ex-World RX aces Nitišs and Raymond join RX2e field at Lohéac". FIA World Rallycross Championship. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
34. "Trio of fast females bolster stellar Spa grid in RX2e". FIA World Rallycross Championship. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
35. "Fraser McConnell targeting all-electric glory as Jamaican joins FIA RX2e for Barcelona curtain-raiser". FIA RX2e CHAMPIONSHIP. 30 June 2021. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
36. "Kallio promises flat-out performances as flying Finn latest rising star added to FIA RX2e grid in Barcelona". FIA RX2e CHAMPIONSHIP. 1 July 2021. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
37. "O'Donovan turns dream into reality with FIA RX2e entry as rallycross starlet announced for Barcelona". FIA RX2e CHAMPIONSHIP. 5 July 2021. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
38. RX2e. "Andersson bolsters FIA RX2e Championship field with Swede ready to get stuck in at Höljes – RX2e" . Retrieved 5 August 2021.
39. "Meunier joins burgeoning FIA RX2e field as French prodigy prepares for season-opener". FIA RX2e CHAMPIONSHIP. 2 July 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
40. RX2e. "Oscar Ortfeldt a late addition to RX2e grid as Pepe Arqué ruled out of Catalunya contest – RX2e" . Retrieved 23 July 2021.
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43. "Flaherty enters the fray with British ace ready to push FIA RX2e car to the limit in Barcelona". FIA RX2e CHAMPIONSHIP. 3 July 2021. Archived from the original on 3 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
44. "Steinsholt commits to FIA RX2e curtain-raiser as rising rallycross star eyes Catalunya success". FIA RX2e CHAMPIONSHIP. 7 July 2021. Archived from the original on 7 July 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
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External links

• Official website